Global debt levels have surged on the back of the global COVID-19 pandemic crisis, with government revenues suffering from lower tax collection as economies were effectively shut down and spending surging in order to provide fiscal stimulus and employment protection programs to those at risk. As a result, a deeper and more protracted recession was averted at the cost of larger debt piles. The question is: how much debt can governments issue without getting into trouble? Is there a certain threshold up until which investors are willing to tolerate such expansions? Can some countries, like Japan or the United States, withstand higher levels than emerging markets like Brazil and South Africa? Do these matter when making business decisions around country risk?
This course will provide graduate students with a good understanding of what sovereign and country risk are and how they can be managed, whether they are considering a career in the public or the private sector. Sessions will have a strong practical component, with case studies on current and past global events and guest speakers adding a practitioner perspective to the latest academic research and evolving views on this fascinating topic.
Raul ALCAIDE ALONSO
Séminaire
English
An intermediate level in macroeconomics would be helpful
Spring 2023-2024
Abbas, S. Ali, Alex Pienkowski, and Kenneth Rogoff, ed. 2019. Sovereign Debt: A Guide for Economists and Practitioners. Oxford University Press